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5 questions for John Brennan's confirmation hearing

The debate over 'enhanced interrogation' once sank Brennan's chances to head the CIA. | AP Photo

3. Is the drone program under control? And is it working?

The use of armed drones — which has scooted along under the radar for years — exploded into the news this week after NBC obtained a Justice Department white paper justifying the targeted killing of Americans overseas.

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Brennan is sure to face a series of questions on this issue. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has made clear he wants answers from Brennan on how much evidence is needed before an American is targeted for death and whether someone must be given an opportunity to surrender. Critics say the administration’s white paper badly distorts language, such as its definition of of what it means for an attack to be imminent and when the U.S. deems it “not feasible” to capture a suspect.

However, don’t expect the questioning to be too sharp. Lawmakers have had years to publicly challenge the administration over drones and few have shown any appetite to do so. Indeed, on Wednesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) suggested a congressional resolution commending Obama for using a drone to kill U.S.-born Al Qaeda of the Arabian Peninsula leader Anwar al-Awlaki in 2011.

In his questionnaire, Brennan doesn’t comment directly on whether the courts should have any role in targeted killing of Americans. However, he says, Congress doesn’t need to pass a new law to authorize the use of force outside “hot” battlefields like Afghanistan and Iraq. “I do not believe additional legislation is necessary.”

Some critics of the Obama administration’s drone policy hope Thursday’s discussion goes beyond the relatively rare use of drones against Americans and at least touches on the backlash the weapons may be producing in countries like Pakistan and Yemen.

“The effect on the ground: That’s what’s being missed,” said Gregory Johnsen, a Princeton scholar and author of “The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al-Qaeda and America’s War in Arabia.”

“The policy John Brennan and the Obama administration have put in place is not bringing about the type of results one would want to see and may be sowing the seeds of the future generation of terrorists,” Johnsen said.

Obama administration officials insist the strikes are decimating Al Qaeda globally, but Johnsen isn’t so sure. “Certainly, the U.S. is killing a lot of people, but what’s the utility in those deaths if Al Qaeda continues to get stronger?” he asked.

4. Can he even talk about drones?

Despite the flurry of attention this week, confusion seems to reign about what can and can’t be said about drone strikes without violating classification rules. That could complicate any discussion of the subject Thursday.

“It will be interesting to see how both the witness and committee handle it,” said Pillar. “The president has said one or two things about this, but it’s not a declassified fact that the CIA is doing this stuff. … Officially, it’s not declassified.”

Even lawmakers who are well-informed and well-briefed on the subject seem confused about the rules.